1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to supports, and more specifically to a support for a bearing.
2. Description of the Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
A Prior Art bearing support is shown in FIG. 1. The bearing is supported by a member that provides both a spring (k) rate to support the bearing, and a damper for the bearing. The bearing support is secured to housing at one end, and an arm extends toward to bearing to provide support to the bearing outer race. The spring rate (k) can be varied by extending the length of the arm, or provide for a thicker arm.
A prior art friction damper is shown in FIG. 2, which is represented in U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,604 issued to Dulberger et al on Oct. 12, 1982 and entitled VISCOUS/FRICTION DAMPER shows a friction damper formed from a series of friction plates or discs (36 and 36A in the Figure of this patent) that surround a shaft, where the outer diameter of friction plates 36 is snugly fitted into the surface 30 and the inner diameter of alternate friction plates 36A is snugly fitted on the cylindrical surface 32. The plates are axially loaded against spring 44 projecting inwardly from the surface 30 by load spring 40. The contact surfaces of the friction plates are along a plane normal to the vibration direction. Pedestal 20 is supported in position by hairspring 24 which has one leg 26 grounded.
An object of the present invention is to provide for a bearing support that provides for damping of the bearing, provides for a spring rate to support the bearing, provide for a simple and easy damper to manufacture, and can withstand high temperatures.